In recent years, transportation methods have changed substantially. This change is due in part to a concern over the limited availability of natural resources, a proliferation in personal technology, and a societal shift to adopt more environmentally friendly transportation solutions. These considerations have encouraged the development of a number of new flexible-fuel vehicles, hybrid-electric vehicles, and electric vehicles.
While these vehicles appear to be new they are generally implemented as a number of traditional subsystems that are merely tied to an alternative power source. In fact, the design and construction of the vehicles is limited to standard frame sizes, shapes, materials, and transportation concepts. Among other things, these limitations fail to take advantage of the benefits of new technology, power sources, and support infrastructure.
To assist in the understanding of the present invention the following list of components and associated numbering found in the drawings is provided herein:
#Component 10System 100Vehicle 110Vehicle front 120Vehicle aft 130Vehicle roof 140Vehicle undercarriage 150Vehicle interior 160Vehicle side 210Vehicle database 220Vehicle driver 230Vehicle passengers 240Remote operator system 250Roadway system 254Robotic charging system 258Overhead charging system 260Roadway vehicles 270Emergency charging vehicle system 280Aerial vehicle charging system 290Autonomous environment 300Data structure 310A-MData structure fields 400Instrument panel 410Steering wheel 420Vehicle operational display 424Auxiliary display 428Power management display 432Charging manual controller 434Head-up display 504Roadway 516(Charging) Power source 520Charging plate 520A-CRoadway charging areas 530Direction one 532Direction two 540AParking space 540BTraffic controlled space 608Charging panel (retracted) 608′Charging panel (deployed) 610Charging panel controller 612Energy storage unit 622Charge provider controller 624Transmission line 626Vehicle sensors 700Robotic unit 704Robotic unit arm 713Robotic unit database 810Tower 814First wire 818Second wire 820Pantograph 824Overhead contact 834Overhead charging data structure 910Roadway passive vehicles 920Roadway active vehicles 921Charging vehicle 922Charging vehicle arm 923Charging vehicle arm controller 924Distance Sensor 925Receiving vehicle1010Tether1140Charging cable1150Connector1204Frame1208Body (Panels)1308Power Source1308AFirst Power Source1308BSecond Power Source1312Electric Motor1314Motor Controller1316Bumpers1316AFront Bumper1316BRear Bumper1320Drive Wheel1324Charge Controller1328Electrical Interconnection1332Redundant Electrical Interconnection1336Energy Recovery System1402Broken Section1404Charging Plug/Receptacle1408Power Transmission Interconnection1412Inductive Charger1500Electrical system1504Power Generation Unit1508Loads1512Billing and Cost unit1604Generator power source1608Wired or wireless charging power source1612Regenerative braking system1616Solar array1618Electrical Interconnection1620Power source interface1624Electrical Interface1628Mechanical Interface1632Electrical Converter1638Conditioner1704Battery and/or capacitors1708Charge Management unit1804Electric motor1808User interaction loads1812Environmental loads1816Sensor loads1820Safety loads2000Vehicle to vehicle charging system2100Vehicle to vehicle control system2200Graphical user interface2204Display device2208Feedback adjustment image one2208′Feedback adjustment image two2212(Charging) Power Source centerline icon2216(Charging) Power Source icon2220Charging Plate centerline icon2224Alignment instruction2334Vehicle to vehicle charging system data structure2400Optical charging system2410Optical charging station2420Optical charging station base2422Optical charging station antenna controller2424Optical charging station antenna2430Optical charging station signal2450Optical charge receiving vehicle2452Receiving vehicle antenna/PV array controller2454Receiving vehicle antenna2456Receiving vehicle PV array2458Receiving vehicle converter2460Receiving vehicle signal2470Vehicle optical charging data structure2475A-OVehicle optical charging data structure fields